Making a Difference
by Thehighestascension
Summary: It was a very lucky day for one Mr. Harry Potter. The four year old had been kicked, punched, and bloodied to an almost permanent sleep but still, he was lucky. On that exact day, a man he had never heard of was being cleared of all charges and he had one mission: save his godson. Rated M for abuse and possible smut later on
1. Frogs and Potions

A.N.: Hello everyone, this is the beginning of a Harry/Padfoot/Moony story I am very excited about and have a lot of plans for. I'm currently planning it to be a 2 part series and even with work and my busy-ness I am trying to write far ahead so it won't meet the same fate as my last story. If you could all read and review I would very much appreciate it and I hope that you enjoy/

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**Chapter One: Frogs and Potions**

"POTTTTTTER!" Vernon Dursley cried as his young nephew sat cowering in his cupboard under the stairs. "POTTER YOU GET OUT HERE THIS INSTANT." Harry was afraid. At four years old, he had lived with his aunt and uncle long enough to know what that tone meant. He hadn't meant to do it. He just wanted a little more to eat and Dudley had had all of that food on his plate. All of a sudden, the food on Dudley's plate had turned into frogs and hopped their way over to Harry's plate and then turned back. Harry sat back, the subject of many astonished faces before he saw the color on his uncle's face slowly begin to rise from pink to dark purple. The vein in his neck was throbbing and Harry knew exactly what that meant: he had to run, and as fast as possible. He had quickly shut himself in his cupboard but he knew it wouldn't last for very long. Vernon, not waiting for Harry to open the door, quickly jimmied it open and pulled him out by his shaggy mess of black hair. His glasses were thrown to safety (there was no way Vernon Dursley would pay for another pair) and Harry was thrown to the floor.

"YOU ARE A FREAK BOY, JUST LIKE YOUR GOOD FOR NOTHING PARENTS BUT NOT IN MY HOUSE! NO SIR. I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS IN MY HOUSE!" Vernon Dursley was the type of man who believed a beating would cure any personality defects. With very little brain himself, his physical exertions were used instead of any reason or thought. This was by no means the first time he tested his theory out on his young nephew, nor, did he think, it would be the last. Between the beatings from his cousin and the "punishments" from his uncle, Harry never looked well enough to go to preschool, nor was his uncle looking to add the extra expense. In short, there was no one looking to keep Harry Potter safe.

After about 20 minutes of "punishment", Harry lay in a heap on the floor, his chest rising in shallow movements. Vernon had his wife, the sister of Harry's mother, carry him into the broom cupboard. Petunia Dursley had by no means ever hit Harry. On the other hand, she had also never done anything to stop it. Not once had she said a word against her husband and that made her just as dangerous to Harry.

The little boy was keeping his composure as well as he could as he knew another beating would come if he cried. There were many rules Harry had to follow while living at the Dursley's. He was never allowed to ask questions, never cry, never have any accidents, and on the very top of the list was that he was never ever, ever supposed to be a freak. He didn't know what that meant exactly, just that his uncle hated it more than the questions. Harry wasn't too sure how he could keep from being something when he had no idea what it meant but asking would just break another rule and so he figured that staying quiet and hiding was the best possible solution. As his family left him in his cupboard, he slowly lost all of the composure he had forced and cried himself to a very fast and dizzy sleep.

…

On an island very far away, a man named Sirius Black was slowly following an Auror out of his cell. He had no idea what for, but he was terrified. He had seen many wizards leave in this fashion and never return. The Dementor's Kiss was their fate, and with every step he was becoming more and more sure that it would be his as well. On some level, however, he didn't mind. Every moment of every day and night was spent torturing himself worse than a dementor could ever dream. Seeing his best friend's body laying crumpled on the stairs and having to move him from the spot haunted his every nightmare. His best friend's wife, the closest thing to a sister he had ever known, was heaped in front of his godson's crib. The light in her eyes was dulled so heavily that it chilled him to the bone. His godson, the perfect little baby he was, was scarred and having a fit, crying out for the mum and dad that were supposed to be there to comfort him. Sirius had cradled him in his own arms, carefully taking him from the house so he wouldn't see the bodies of broken parents. Harry had snuggled up to his familiar scent and burrowed into his chest. Hagrid had then met him outside and forced Sirius to give up the baby for Dumbledore. After all, Dumbledore knew best. It had been almost 3 years since that day but the nightmares only got worse and worse. It would be quite a relief to have them stop for good.

Sirius resigned himself to the fate of the dementors when suddenly the Auror led him down a hall that he remembered from years ago. That was odd. The dementors didn't administer the kiss right in the middle of processing. All of a sudden, the Auror turned to Black and smiled playfully, Sirius recognizing him at once. "Kingsley, my friend, please. If I'm going to be kissed I'd like to be taken to dinner first."

Kingsley roared with laughter at Black's ability to find humor with the absolute worst timing. This was a first. But Kingsley slowly shook his head and once they got past the wards, gripped Sirius's arm and apparated them from the prison.

…

Sirius looked around to a room he had never been in before, as he hadn't been allowed a trial. The case was too cut and dry for the ministry and they needed to look as though they were making a difference to clean the world of death eater scum. They had looked at Sirius like scum. In a chair similar to his (one that had chains coming out from all angles) sat a little, round man. His teeth were rat-like and he was missing a finger. Sirius started to pull against his chains so he could strangle the little man. Then his sentenced would be deserved and maybe the nightmares would stop if he could get revenge for James and Lily. That wasn't true. He really just hoped that it would make himself feel better. The guilt of letting that slimy Peter Pettigrew the secret-keeper for his best friend when James and Lily would have stayed perfectly safe if he had just accepted the position is what caused most of his nightmares.

"Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew has been captured and given Veritaserum. Do you also agree to subject yourself to its workings so the court has a better idea of the night that James and Lily Potter were murdered by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"I do consent"

"Very well. Mr. Black, I would like you to state for the record your relationship to James and Lily Potter"

"I met James on the train to Hogwarts. Eventually I moved in with him and his family due to unsuitable living conditions at my mother and father's house" Sirius was being quite generous with that statement. "On the night that Lily gave birth to Harry, I was named his Godfather and guardian if anything was to happen to the pair of them. They were closer to me than any brother and sister could have been."

"Were you the secret keeper for the Potter family?"

"No. We told all the necessary people that I was but I decided to change the plan at the last minute. Peter Pettigrew was secret keeper because I thought the Death Eaters were less likely to go after him. Little did I know that he had already been recruited."

"Peter Pettigrew, were you secret keeper for James and Lily Potter?"

"Yes. The moment I was given the location of the house I brought it to my Lord so he would be able to fulfill the Prophecy. The Potter boy must be killed for the Dark Lord to rise again."

"Wizengamot, I would like to put it to a vote. Please raise your hands if you believe that Sirius Black should remain incarcerated for Death Eater activity?"

A few hands were raised but not nearly a majority. Sirius became hopeful for the first time in almost 3 years. "Those of you who believe that Peter Pettigrew should receive the Dementor's Kiss and Sirius Black to be cleared of charges please raise your hands," the head of the Wizengamot said clearly to the full room. Hand after hand was raised and with each one Sirius felt his stomach tug more and more towards freedom.

"Majority rules. Sirius Black, you are cleared of all charges and are to be released immediately. You will be provided with a 12,000 galleon stipend for every year you were wrongly incarcerated as well as a public apology. Now, as you are Harry Potter's legal guardian the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is currently drawing the papers for you to legally adopt one by the name of Harry Potter who currently resides with the Dursley family of number 12 Privet Drive in Surrey. You will be escorted tonight to collect your godson so please prepare a place for him to sleep in the meantime. You will be called upon at exactly 7:00 this evening so we ask that you are ready. Welcome back to the World, Mr. Black."

At the mention of the Dursley's Sirius Black went still. Lily's sister and her husband? He had met Petunia when they were all kids and then Vernon at the Potter-Evans wedding. Both days were a sour spot in his memory. Vernon was a bully and Petunia a coward who bent into his every wish. He knew with every fiber of his being that his godson would not last long with these people and he was very thankful that he would be able to retrieve him that very night, although he had to quickly come up with a place for them to stay. Number 12 Grimmauld Place was out, there was no way a toddler would be able to stay there. However, Sirius did remember a couple of quite nice country houses that were rarely used. He would have to make a decision quickly, though. His eyes scanned the room looking for any familiar face. He saw Professor Dumbledore running off after the Chief of the Wizengamot. Then, with his breath stopping for quite a long minute, Sirius locked eyes with the one person he was hoping for the most. Remus Lupin looked almost as worse for wear as Sirius. He looked scraggly and unkempt with visible in his shirt and pants. But all Sirius could really look at were his eyes, the honey colored pools swimming with tears making them shine brighter than gold. His Moony was crying. Sirius, having been released from his chains, slowly made his way over to Remus. The tears were starting to fall from his own eyes while he started the seemingly endless walk to the only friend he had left in the world.

The two men embraced and took a very long time to let go of one another. Remus grabbed at Sirius's thin prison garb for dear life, terrified that his best friend would be taken from him again. Slowly he began whispering his apology, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Sirius. I should have done more. I should have ensured a trial. I was so mad. I didn't think. I just wanted to believe so bad that it was you so that I could make my peace with it and let it go but it never happened. I promise with everything I have that I will not let you down again. I swear it"

Sirius hugged Lupin tighter to his chest for reassurance, "I would have believed the same Moony. I did believe the same of you back then. This war hurt us all, but I'm coming home now." With that, Moony and Padfoot made their way to get Sirius a warm meal, some clothes, and a place to raise his godson.


	2. The Retrieval

**A/N: I honestly don't think I'll be able to spoil you all with two chapters in one day often but since I have it done, I figured that I might as well let you all read it. Thanks so much for the follows/faves and reviews. I'll let you all know when I decided on the posting schedule. But for now, enjoy chapter two.**

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**Chapter 2: The Retrieval **

Moony and Padfoot didn't take long in choosing one of the many Black real estate holdings to raise Harry at. There was a well hidden house outside of London, about 25 miles from the Weasley Burrow and close to schools. It had big bedrooms, and open floor plan, and a 2 acre back yard for Harry to explore. It was perfect. It would take quite a bit of time to get all of the necessary items to take care of the little boy so they decided on just a bed, dresser, and a big comfy chair to start. Moony, it being decided that he was to move in and have his own room in the house, was going to start moving in his things as well as the items he had saved from the Potter house and some of Sirius's more faithful belongings while Sirius went to retrieve Harry. They got the minimal shopping they needed done in time for the ministry witch to come and escort him to Privet Drive. He recognized her as a witch from his year named Kiki. If he remembered correctly, she had had quite a thing for Lupin before the rumors started to spread about him. A lot of girls did.

Sirius was quite anxious to get to his godson. He had this nagging feeling about the Dursley's that he couldn't quite shake off. He didn't understand why Harry was sent there in the first place anyway. Lily couldn't stand her older sister and had voiced her opinions that Vernon was abusive more than once. He asked Moony about the situation, but couldn't get a straight answer out of him either.

"Padfoot, I tried everything in my power to get Harry moved to my custody but Dumbledore wouldn't have it. He kept going on about blood magic and family bonds but I don't think he's ever even met Lily's sister. He has no idea what he has done by putting that little boy there." Remus, being much closer to Lily than the other boys during their collective stay at Hogwarts, had spent much time getting to know Lily and even had dinner with her family once. James wouldn't stop jinxing him for weeks after that night. "Please, just go pick Harry up so we can know he's safe. Kiki's waiting for you and I'm sure he's going to have a lot of questions. It's better to just get it over with now."

"But Moony, I don't think I'm ready to be a dad. I can't be James. How could I ever replace his father?"

"Sirius, Harry isn't looking for a new dad; he's looking for someone to love and take care of him and help him grow up. You can do all of that and more. Besides, I'll be right here with you. Neither of us will ever replace James and Lily. We could never even try. But we can be the next best thing for him. Now go on, I can't stand this waiting anymore."

With that, Sirius and Kiki exchanged looks. Sirius's was worried and anxious and excited all at the same time. Kiki's almost mirrored it, trying to figure out who in their right mind would give Sirius Black, Marauder and professional prankster, a child. Either way, she was also anxious to see Lily's baby. Being in the same year as the Potters, Kiki had gotten to know Lily quite well and was over often when Harry was a baby. She was as worried about his safety as Sirius and Lupin but it was her job not to show it. She quickly grabbed Sirius's arm and apparated them away to Surrey.

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Harry awoke with a horrible pounding in his head and pain over his entire body. He couldn't remember a time when he had gotten punished this badly and he knew he must have done something very, very bad. There was a baby bottle with water on the floor (even though he was four, the Dursley's never deemed it important enough to advance Harry to the next stage of his life. The only thing that changed is that he no longer wore diapers but that was purely for the benefit of Petunia. Even then, he still had a lot of accidents) as well as half an apple and three crackers. Harry knew better than to eat it all at once so he planned to eat the apple first as it would go bad the quickest and then save the crackers for the next day. He doubted he was going to be given more food anytime soon.

He tried to swing his legs off of the little cot but the movement caused him to black out again, screaming in pain as he did so. Boy, he sure hoped his aunt and uncle weren't home. If they heard the screams he would be in for it again.

…

Sirius and Kiki met up with two other Aurors down the street from the Dursley household, just to be on the safe side. They walked up together and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Sirius looked at Kiki questioningly. "We sent them a letter," she said, her own brows furrowed. "We told them that due to extenuating circumstances, Harry Potter would no longer legally be able to live with him and to have him ready to go tonight. Legally, they should be here."

Sirius took that as a very bad sign. Inside, he was becoming terrified that he wouldn't get his godson tonight. His anger and fear growing, he started banging on the door. When he was sure no one was coming to answer it, he unlocked it with a quick _alohamora _and shot into the house before Kiki could stop him. Once he was through the door he started running about the house, calling Harry's name as loud as he could. There was a chance. There was always a chance that he was here. He ran to the kitchen, no Harry. He ran upstairs and checked each of the bedrooms and the playroom, no Harry. It didn't even look like he lived here. There was one bedroom for Vernon and Petunia, one for their son, and a guestroom. No Harry anywhere. He was beginning to think they had the wrong house.

He ran back down the stairs and as he zipped past a piece of tape suddenly caught his eye. He stopped and backed up. In little boy lettering, he could read the name "Harry Potter" stuck to the cupboard door. Sirius blinked, not immediately connecting the dots. After a few seconds he reached his hand down to the knob. He tried to turn it, but it was locked up tight. He called Kiki over to him and then got out his wand and, while restraining himself from blowing the door down, he silently unlocked it and opened it slowly. Neither of them were ready for the sight that greeted them.

Harry Potter was lying on his bed, almost like he was sleeping. The little space under the stairs reeked of urine, blood, and vomit. Upon closer inspection, the tiny boy's frame looked bent out at odd angles, most specifically his right arm and leg. Both were crooked in more than one spot. His shirt was lifted partially from the way he was laying and bruises could be seen spotting the pale skin of his back. He looked malnourished and had deep scarlet blood dried down his shirt which seemed to have come from an oddly set nose. His chest was barely moving; Harry didn't have much longer.

Sirius sunk to his knees with the urge to vomit making its way up from his stomach. "Harry?" he whispered, it barely audible. He knew it was Harry right away, too. He looked exactly like James. His eyes were closed but Sirius hoped that he still had the beautiful bright green that was so much like Lily's. Oh Lily, if she and James were alive there was no chance their son would have ended up like this. James. Lily. Harry. Save Harry. Sirius, save Harry. His mind was wheeling no longer knowing which way was up but he had to fight it to save the little boy. He had to.

Kiki, just as shocked as Sirius, had a much quicker recovery time. She immediately sent her patronus (a dazzling little owl) for help from St. Mungo's. She then called for the Aurors to secure the house and then had to deal with Sirius who looked like he was going to pass out.

"Sirius!" she shouted, trying to break him from his stupor. "We need to save him! I need you to hold it together and help me. I can fix some of his injuries now but I can't do it alone. Please, I need you to conjure some cold water. I'm going to fix his nose first and try and get rid of the blood so the Healers will be able to see him better. Now Sirius!"

With that, Sirius shook awake and conjured the water and a rag as well to help relieve the swelling that seemed to make up the entirety of the four year old's body. Kiki took to healing the minor wounds and cleaning up all of the blood, urine, and vomit that covered him. She knew there was a lot of internal damage. Some broken ribs that might have punctured a lung as well as a lot of internal bleeding were the most easy to diagnose. It would take a lot to keep this boy alive. If she knew Sirius Black, which she did, then there was no chance he would let his godson die. It would break him.

After what seemed like hours of waiting (which in reality added up to about five minutes) the Healers arrived and quickly assessed the situation. It was too dangerous to move Harry from that spot even with magic so it was important to heal everything they could here first. That way, at least the body would be kept from going into severe shock. If he had been left alone for another hour there was no doubt in any of the four witches and wizards' mind that Harry Potter, the savior of the Wizarding World, would have died by the hands of a muggle.

…

Sirius quickly apparated back to his house in the country where Remus was excitedly awaiting the arrival of his best friend's son. Seeing Sirius come home empty handed, Remus was already preparing himself for the worst.

"Remus," Sirius began to cry, "He looked so broken. Almost like James did the night I found him. The muggles beat him, they beat him so bad and they just left him to die. He was locked in the cupboard under the stairs. It had a bed in it so I'm assuming that's where he was most of the time. There was blood just, everywhere. All over the place. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days." Remus, screaming horribly, horribly loud in his head couldn't keep it in much longer. He ran outside to a massive, shady elm and kicked it. And kicked it. And kicked it. He kept kicking it until he cleared the bark from one spot and then put his back against the sturdy tree and sank to the ground. His face in his hands he asked, "Will he live? Sirius, for god's sake will that little boy come home to us?"

Sirius, quite taken aback from Remus's floral abuse, quickly recovered and answered, "They're giving him about a 45% chance. If he makes it through tonight, then it'll be bumped up to 90%. We can go to the hospital soon and sit with him. They're supposed to have him out of surgery by midnight as long as there aren't any complications." He said this all as calmly as he could so as not to upset Remus again, but inside his blood was boiling. He was going to kill that Dursley if it was the last thing he did.

…

Back at St. Mungo's, Harry's surgery went off without a hitch, much to the relief of Sirius and Remus. It had been about 12 hours since it ended and he was supposed to be out for a few more hours but they were remaining hopeful. Just surviving the surgery made it 15% more likely that he would make it through the night. Now that the night seemed to be behind them, both Sirius and Lupin were very hopeful that they would be able to take Harry home soon. The Healers said that as long as he woke up and was cognitive, the rest of the care could take place at their home.

Padfoot and Moony were camped out in the young wizard's room which was decorated from top to bottom with cartoon representations of magical animals. They had decided to put a motion blocking charm on them so as not to frighten Harry. They were sure he had no idea about his magical heritage and it was important that he stayed calm. Of course, keeping a four year old, who woke up surrounded by adults he had never met before, calm would be a challenge in itself. Sirius and Remus waited expectantly for two more hours before they saw Harry stir underneath the decorated quilt.

…

Harry was terrified. The last thing he could remember was trying to get something to eat and then it was just blackness and pain. Pain, pain, pain. Now, he was awake and it hurt less but he had absolutely no idea where he was. There were animals on the walls but none that he could recognize. There were people in the room but neither were his uncle or aunt although one of the men had hair as long as hers. They hadn't noticed he had woken up yet, so it might be better if he just stayed still. Maybe they would go away and leave him alone. He didn't want any more hurt right now, not when it was finally feeling a little better. He was awfully thirsty, though. And the man with the long hair did have a bottle of water next to him. His thirst outweighing his better judgment (asking for something was considered asking a question in the Dursely house), Harry slowly opened his eyes and tried to sit up before realizing it was still too painful. Sirius, seeing that the little boy had awoken, walked over expectantly.

"Harry? How are you feeling?"

Harry no longer wanted the water. He wanted to go back to his cupboard and hide with his Memow. He couldn't help it and just started crying, even though that was another rule to break. It still hurt so much and this man looked scary.

"Hey buddy, hey, calm down. It's alright. You're in a hospital," Sirius said quickly, sensing a meltdown on the way.

"Hopsickle?" Harry asked. He knew what the hopsickle was. Dudley had gone there once when he had a cold. Aunt Petunia said very sick boys have to go there to get better. Harry knew that he had come down with many colds though and he never needed to go there.

"Yes little pup. The hospital. We came to see you last night and you were hurt really badly. You had to come here right away so the Hea—err, Doctors could make you all better. How do you feel? Can you remember how you got so hurt?"

"It still hurt," Harry said with a frown, his eyes still watery. Visitors? Him? No one loved him and no one ever came to see him. "I was bad so Unca Vernon teacheded me how to not be a fweak. I was hungy but Duddy got it all. It turned into fwoggies but I don't know how. The hopded over and turned back and then I got into lotsa twouble," he said. He was still unsure he could trust this man not to punish him for the same thing all over again, but it was too late now. If there was one thing he learned from his Uncle, it was that he was to never, ever lie. If Harry was asked a direct question, you would get a direct answer.

"Well as long as it's feeling better then we're on the right track, Harry. I'm sorry your Uncle did that to you. I think that frogs are wonderful little animals and I wish that I could have seen that trick. Could you maybe try and show me?"

Harry paused, not sure if this was a trick or not. Uncle Vernon never let him be a freak, but this man was telling him he wanted to see. Maybe he was trying to get him to do it so he could punish him? Harry looked at the long-haired man expectantly. "Don't worry Harry, no one will see besides us two and I promise you I would never hurt you." Harry, feeling a bit more reassured, scrunched his face up while looking at the food that sat on the tray in the corner of the room. All he could think about was how hungry he was and how much it hurt to move, when the bunch of grapes suddenly turned into 15 individual little frogs. They bounced across the room followed by another three medium frogs that had been biscuits, and pulling up the rear was a big frog that had come from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They joyfully hopped across the room to the bed and landed on the little boy. With a quick ribbit, they turned back into their respective tidbits and Harry eyed them hungrily.

Sirius, delighted with the display of some of the cutest magic he had ever seen, noticed the look of concern on the little boy's face. "Harry, that was such a cool trick! Really well done, that was. When was the last time you ate? Do you remember?" Harry closed his eyes for a minute, trying to think of what day it was. He remembered that there was a calendar on the wall right in front of him. He looked quickly, realizing he had been sleeping for over a day. "Um, I tink it was the day when Unca Vernon didn't have work. Sunday?"

Sirius had to hide his shock well for that was almost four days ago. A little boy going four days without food? No wonder he was just skin and bone! "Harry can you do me a reaaaal big favor and eat that food on your bed for me? I'm not very hungry and it would just be a waste if someone didn't eat it." To tell the truth, Sirius was starving. He wasn't fed well at Azkaban but there was no way he would allow that little boy to go another minute without food. As Harry ate, Sirius decided that he needed to explain a little bit more about what was going on.

"Harry, do you have any idea who I am?" Harry shook his head. "Well, I'm Sirius and I'm your godfather. That means that when you were born, your parents wanted me to take care of you if anything happened to them." Harry nodded this time, he knew what godparents were. Dudley's godmother was his Aunt Marge and she gave him presents and cookies and ice cream all the time. She wasn't very nice to Harry though. "You knew my muma and dada?" Harry asked hopefully. The only people that he knew had known his parents were his aunt and uncle and they didn't like to talk about the Potters.

"Of course Harry! Your dada was my very best friend. I was there when you were born. Both of your parents loved you very much. Now, after they died something happened to me and I had to go away for a while. I couldn't help it, but I thought about you the entire time. I wanted you to come and live with me so I could take care of you, but now that I'm back we can stay together forever. Would you like that Harry?"

"Does that means that I neva have to go with auntie and unca again? I don wanna go back dere. Dey don like me vewy much."

"Harry, I promise you right now that you will never have to be anywhere near them ever again. I'm your family now, and you're mine."

"Otay Siwi, I come wit you." Harry said, relieved he would never have to be with his mean aunt and uncle ever again. Maybe, just maybe, this Sirius man could be okay.


	3. Finding Home Again

A/N: Wow seriously guys thank you for all the follows and faves and reviews. Here is chapter three, a little shorter than I planned but it got across what I wanted it to. I'll try to update again this upcoming week since I have three days off of work. I'm also starting to plan out another HP story that will be much more adult than this but I have to find the time to write both before i start it. Anyway, enjoy!

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**Chapter 3: Finding Home Again**

"'Now then, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, I need you to both to be quite sure that you will give little Harry these potions three times a day for the next month. One is for the pain, another to help his bones heal correctly, and the last one to help nourish his body. This last one on the end is a dreamless sleep potion and should be used at you discretion. I don't recommend him taking it every night but he has suffered through quite the ordeal and some nights may not fall too easily on him. Try to give it enough just so that he can feel as normal as a four year old should. Now, do you have any questions?"

Remus and Sirius shook their heads, much too anxious to bring Harry home to keep chatting. With that, the Healer signed the released papers and allowed the two men into Harry's room to help him get ready to go. It wasn't hard to see that the little boy was still extremely nervous around them and they didn't expect for that to stop anytime soon. "Love, and patience," Remus had to keep reminding Sirius. The love part wasn't so hard; Sirius had an abundance of it for the little boy. It was the patience that was going to be the problem.

"Are you ready, little cub?" Remus asked the nervous boy sitting on the bed. Harry still wasn't quite as at ease with him as he was with Sirius, but Remus just figured his scars probably scared the little boy a bit as they were numerous and off-putting. Harry flinched slightly as Sirius held his hand out for him to grab but quickly regained his composure and grabbed two of his godfather's fingers. He hadn't spoken much since their conversation a couple days earlier so Sirius took this as confirmation.

"Okay Harry, now I want you to hold on tight to me and Moony and don't let go. I'll explain it all as soon as we get home but until then just trust me, okay? You're going to feel weird for a few seconds."

Harry nodded his head, showing that he understood the directions and gripped the two men tighter. He started to gasp as he felt the ability to breathe leave him and the gasp ended with surprise at the change of surroundings.

"Welcome to your new home, little boy!" Remus and Sirius chorused, ecstatic at the look on Harry's chubby face.

"How did we get hewe?" The toddler questioned, still not understanding how they could have gotten from the antiseptic soaked white walls to a cozy country house.

"Well Harry, this is what we wanted to talk to you about. Do you remember what you showed me the other day? With the froggies? Well, you're a very special little boy to be able to do that. You changed all your food with magic!"

Harry looked nervous for a second, almost like an invisible hand was going to come and smack him across the head. "Unca says magic isn't weal. I'm not allowed to talk about it," Harry whispered, his voice showing his concern.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other and then back at Harry who seemed terrified that someone was going to hit him. They both felt their pulses rising in anger at how badly Vernon Dursley had destroyed their tiny tot but knew better than to show it. "No kiddo, magic is very real. You're a wizard, or you will be when you're older and get trained. Me and Moony here are wizards, and your mummy and daddy were wizards too. Well, your daddy was. Your mummy was a witch but that's basically the same thing. Your aunt and uncle don't have a magic bone in their body and your uncle just tried to tell you it was bad because he is very jealous that you can do something so cool and he stuck being a muggle."

"What's a 'muggle'?"

"It's just the name for someone who can't do magic. There's nothing wrong with them, they aren't all like your aunt and uncle but we just can't ever tell them that magic exists. Otherwise, they'd want it too to fix all of their problems. They're so smart that they can figure out how to do a lot of what we can do without magic, and we don't want them to ever stop doing that," Sirius explained to Harry. He was glad that the look of terror had been wiped from his face and had been replaced with something more akin to excitement.

"Now Harry," Remus started, "we're going to take you around the house now and then we'll show you your new room. It's not finished yet, though. We were planning on taking you out after lunch today to get some new clothes and toys and books, as long as you feel up to it?"

"Yes!" Harry yelled at first, forgetting himself in excitement for a second. He'd never had any toys before besides one old cat stuffed animal that Dudley had practically destroyed. Realizing his mistake, he quickly widened his eyes waiting for the kick to his legs. He tried to amend his speech quickly by saying much more quietly, "Yes, please."

"Harry, it's perfectly okay to be excited! Padfoot over there is excited and yelling at least 95% of the time and the other 5% is spent sleeping. Toys are a very exciting thing! Right Padfoot?"

"HARRY! MOONY SAID TOYS! WE GET TO GET TOYS! AHHHH!" And with that, Sirius picked the little boy up and swung him around the room all the while yelling and screaming about the multitude of toys they were going to buy. Harry, remarkably less nervous but still not quite at Padfoot's level, smiled wide and clapped along.

"There! Now that that's settled, let's go make some lunch. Which little pup wants some macaroni and cheese?" Remus asked, looking expectantly at Harry but instead receiving an "I DO I DO" from Padfoot. He shot him a glare but then softened when he heard Harry mimic, much more softly, "I do! I do!" He shook his head at the two boys (Sirius acted more like a boy than a grown man, anyway) and headed into the kitchen to start lunch.

…

"Okay then, Harry! Let's start off getting you some clothes so we can spend more time in the toy store. Then if you and Sirius don't spend all of our money, we can go out for ice cream."

"Siwi, how much money do you have?"

Sirius smiled and whispered in Harry's ear an amount. Harry's eyes popped open and he exclaimed with a grin, "That'd be a lot of toys!"

"Yes it would be my darling boy! Much too many for either you or myself so it looks like Remmy isn't going to get away with not getting us ice cream!"

The trio headed to Merlin's Tot's Menagerie which boasted the best selection of apparel for the young witch or wizard. They did indeed have just about every type of outfit and costume possible and it took Remus and Sirius a long time to get Harry to decide. Eventually, they collectively picked out a pair of dragon feetie pajamas (that shot fake flames out of the nostrils on the hood with the push of a button), two different pairs of Gryffindor pajamas, some Quidditch shirts (Harry became very enthusiastic when Sirius explained the game to him), and some robes for special occasions as well as various other shirts and pants.

As Harry, Sirius, and Remus walked to the toy store, it was hard for Harry to stay with them. Diagon Alley housed some of the most interesting objects and people he had ever seen. There were animals and cauldrons and wands and broomsticks. When they finally reached the toy store, his interest peaked. There were ride on trains that steamed and whistled, stuffed lions that stalked around and growled, blocks that stacked themselves when the tower became too tall for the child to reach, as well as the pieces for Wizard's Chess, gobstones, and exploding snap. Sirius looked at Remus, winked, and walked over to the Filibuster Fabulous Wet-Start, No Heat Fireworks with a gleam in his eye. Harry didn't know where to start. At the end of the trip he had picked out sand that didn't need water to create a sand castle, a puppet show with 500 pre-programmed stories, a kid's Wizard Chess set that was less violent and much more helpful, and a stuffed owl that was enchanted to fly notes around the house but was super snuggly to sleep with at night. Sirius and Remus helped Harry pick out the name "Elpis" and he refused to put her down.

As it started getting dark, they made their way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor where Harry was allowed to get the biggest sundae (even though they both knew he wouldn't finish it) as a special dinner. The adults (well, mostly Remus) vowed that more vegetables would be making their way into Harry's meals the next day. The day out ended with Harry passing out in his ice cream, forcing Sirius to pick him up carefully and carry him home. Quietly, the two men tucked him into bed after wiping the ice cream and chocolate sauce off of his face. He hadn't let go of Elpis the whole time and they couldn't bear to move him from Harry's hands. With softened footsteps, the adults left the room and headed down to the kitchen for some tea.

…

"Remy, I'm exhausted; I don't understand how parents do this all day every day."

"Well Sirius, it looks like you're going to have to get used to it because we're going to have that kid every day until he goes to Hogwarts."

With exhaustion forgotten, Sirius started dancing around the kitchen chanting "We've got Harry! We've got Harry!" His enthusiasm catching, Remus joined in and they kept on like that until they collapsed in a heap on the marble floor. Getting up on one elbow and reaching over, Sirius softly started caressing Remus's jaw, fingering the marred skin with a gentleness that no one would ever have guessed that Sirius Black would possess. "We're daddies," he murmured with a soft smile. Remus pulled his mate closer to whisper in his ear "I wouldn't want it any other way." With that, Sirius and Remus headed up to bed to prepare themselves for the next morning. All in all, it wasn't a bad first day.


End file.
